Heroism

I have decided to be a heroine.

Fortunately, that's all it takes, to decide. Somehow, that orchestrates all the debris in my head, gives me an orientation, and provides focus on minutiae in life.

I AM a heroine.

So I have stress at work. A hero is stronger than mere stress! A hero sees the difficult people as incidental to the purpose and importance of what he is doing, the mere cost of doing business, so to speak. A hero strives in spite of impediments to do the best job possible at all times. Therefore, no matter what stress I have at work, I can remain, entirely, a heroine.

So I feel lonely without my family. Well, heroes often deal with disadvantageous to downright desperate circumstances, but they realize that it's not something they can control right away. Rather than grieving their situation, they focus on the positives, not on what they don't have, and bide their time until circumstances can change. In other words, a situation doesn't define the hero. The hero manages himself with distinction in the situation.

A hero is not perfect, however. Odysseus found himself waylaid many times on his travels back to Ithaca. Modern heroes like JFK or the Princess of Wales were all too human in their private lives, yet they're largely respected, if not revered. What allows the hero to remain the hero in the face of his human fallibility? Well, the hero is human; he is not going to be perfect. But he is going to maintain his sense of hope. While Odysseus frolicked on his way home to his wife, he never forgot Penelope was waiting for him in Ithaca, and the idea inspired his hope when his energy or conviction flagged. JFK's immoral private life and controversial presidency in no way shaded the light of hope that illuminated his generation. Diana's struggles through the travails of life inspired the rest of us to sustain ourselves through our own hard times.

And the example of Jesus, who never gave up in the face of persecution, torture, and execution reminds us all that that no matter how bad our lives may be or get or seem, it all could be very, very much worse. Yet, we always can maintain our dignity.

Heroes.

In an article by Oliver Stone, he describes his growth in the perspective of heroism. He said when he was small, heroes were public figures like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, people who symbolized strength and character. But as an adult, he believes that heroes are the regular people who do the right thing in the face of challenge: kids who say no to drugs, parents who instill children with values and morals, people who take on a task and honor it and thereby honor themselves.

The Flight 93 heroes realized their plight, and they made sure the world heard their voices, and they saved hundreds of lives. They rose to an occasion that everyone understood merited fear. They are heroes.

Then, I am a hero. I am a heroine. When the road gets tough is when the heroism can emerge, right? So if the next few months are hard for me, well, that's the price a heroine has to pay. That's all.